Kévin, keeping the family spirit alive

To open this series of portraits: Kévin, now Managing Director of the Maison, whose own path tells a part of this story.

A story meant to last a weekend

Kévin had come to Tignes for a weekend. A few years later, he is Managing Director of Maison Bouvier.

In between lies a story that began almost by chance. A professional friendship with Clément, a trade Kévin thought he had left behind, several invitations to come and discover Tignes and the Maison. And then that weekend with his wife, which would end up changing everything that followed.

At the time, Kévin no longer worked in hospitality. After several years in the trade, he had stepped away, thinking he would no longer find what he was looking for there. Yet some things were missing: the pace, the guests, the human relationships that form in professions where you spend much of your life with others.

Over a weekend in Tignes, Clément opened the doors of the family adventure to him. The different addresses, the teams, the faces, the mountains too. Kévin discovered what Maison Bouvier had become over the years.

A few days after he got home, the phone rang. It was Clément. The family was unanimous: they would all love Kévin to join the adventure.

It meant a complete change of life, but Kévin and his wife said yes.

A family home

That is how Kévin describes Maison Bouvier. A family spirit found in all the small gestures of everyday life: Catherine and Jean-Michel present day after day, breakfasts shared with the teams, the Panoramic’s supplies loaded together onto the funicular, Clément moving from one address to the next, Raphaëlle, who gets asked about more or less everything, the bonds that carry on when the season ends…

The Bouvier family, of course. But also, little by little, everyone who becomes part of its story.

That is probably what mattered to Kévin from the moment he arrived: the place given to people, the closeness, the kindness and the feeling of being quickly welcomed as one of their own.

Making others feel expected

What came next felt rather natural.

The man who had been invited to come and discover Tignes became, in turn, one of those who welcome the newcomers.

First as Food and Beverage Director, Kévin soon paid particular attention to how the teams arrive. Some come from far away. Many join the Maison for a season, sometimes for their very first job.

So, even before the first service, there is welcoming to be done.

Telling the family’s story. Introducing the different addresses. Explaining what sets them apart and what connects them. Passing on a way of working, of welcoming, of taking care of details and of others.

But above all, making sure every new team member feels expected from the moment they arrive.

A very simple gesture that, on its own, says a great deal about the Maison Bouvier spirit.

Growing the Maison without losing its spirit

Since that first weekend in Tignes, Maison Bouvier has grown. New addresses have opened, the teams have expanded and Kévin’s role has evolved too.

Now Managing Director of the Maison, he guides this growth with a particular responsibility: helping an ensemble that has become larger to grow without losing what gives it its spirit.

For behind very different places and professions lies one shared way of working together, of welcoming, of passing things on. A closeness and an attentiveness to others that Kévin discovered when he arrived, and that he now helps, in turn, to keep alive.

He came to Tignes almost by chance. He found his place there. A few years later, it is his turn to pass on what made him want to stay, and to help write the next chapter of the Maison Bouvier story.